pope benedict is the first to quit in nearly 600 years. senior members of the catholic church will start planning their conclave, the meeting they hold to choose a successor. catholics make up a small portion of the japanese population, still, they have been surprised by the pope's resignation. peter tekao okeda became archbishop in japan, has visited the vatican twice and was shot when he heard about the resignation. >> translator: i couldn't believe the news. we didn't see it coming. i was hoping the pope would continue, despite his age. >> okeda hopes the next pope will understand what's happening in japan. many are struggling and lost hope during the economic down turn. >> translator: there has been an increasing number of suicides and people dying alone without anyone knowing about it. it's difficult to find a reason to go on living without any connections to other people. i hope leaders in the vatican will instruct our churches to save those whose lives are wrapped with pain. >> okeda says the next pope should pay attention to asia,